1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and method thereof for breathing under the water without the aid of any pumps, engines or pressurized air supplies.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many different underwater breathing devices are known which utilize mechanical or electrical means to move the air. Some devices employ engines and/or pressurized air supplies to facilitate the movement of the air. Examples of such types of devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,267 to Doss, U.S. Pat. No. 4,674,493 to Mitchell, U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,182 to Le, U.S. Pat. No. 4,061,140 to Saito, U.S. Pat. No. 3,467,091 to Aragona, U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,586 to Aragona et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,646 to Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 2,814,292 to Girden, U.S. Pat. No. 2,362,240 to Bonilla, U.S. Pat. No. 1,978,104 to Evenden et al, U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,923 to Eckerd and U.S. Pat. No. 1,369,669 to Kamenos, all incorporated herein by reference.
The simplest known underwater breathing device is a snorkel, which is simply a tube extending from the swimmer's mouth to the surface. The disadvantage of a snorkel is that a swimmer would have to hold his breath to go any deeper than the surface of the water. Another known device is a pressurized tank, which a swimmer wears on his or her back to supply air through a hose and regulator configuration. This type of device enables the swimmer to breathe at depths below the surface of the water because the tank provides air at sufficient pressure to compensate for the water pressure at the particular depth. Such a device, however, requires the swimmer to undergo an extensive training course in the United States because of the dangers involved in breathing highly pressurized air and requires the swimmer to carry around a lot of weight in equipment.
Another known method for breathing under water is to have a pump located on the surface of the water, for example, on a boat, or otherwise pumping air through a pressure hose to the underwater swimmer. The air may be fed to the swimmer through a regulator or may simply be fed into a pressurized suit worn by the swimmer, such as those used for deep sea diving. Another known device has been designed to float independently on the surface of the water and pump air at relatively shallow depths to an underwater swimmer. Such a device usually consists of a pump and a gasoline engine which are held afloat by attaching them to an innertube. Such a device, however, is only marginally seaworthy and risks contamination of the air from the exhaust of the gasoline engine.
Another known device utilizes an electric motor, a pump and pressurized air to overcome the contamination problem. And yet another known device employs a dual float, ball and rod valve for keeping water out of the air passageway without the use of an oxygen system.
None of these prior art devices, however, disclose the specific structure and advantages taught by the present invention. More particularly, the present invention provides an underwater breathing apparatus for shallow water diving situations without the aid of engines, pressurized cabins, dual float and ball devices and other mechanical or electrical driven type devices.
Thus, there exists a need for a simple and small floating device which can transfer air from the surface above the water to a swimmer underneath the water. The primary object of this invention is to provide such a type of device and which overcomes the prior art limitations and disadvantages.
A further object of this invention is to provide an underwater breathing apparatus and method thereof without the aid of engines, electronics, pressurized supply systems, dual float assemblies or the like.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a floating underwater breathing apparatus which will operate in both calm and turbulent waters.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus of the type described above which is compact, durable, safe, economical and easy to use.